Toy



0. A. LANGOS.

TOY.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 17, 1919.

' 1,334,867. Patented Mar. 23, 1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

-1 1; STATESPATENT ormon OTTO A. LANGOS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR F THREE-FOURTHS '10 MELVILLE M. OSTERTAG, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

TOY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 23, 1920.

Application filed February 17, 1919. Serial No. 277,568.

To all 1w]: 0m it may concern:

Be it known that I, O'r'ro A. LANGOS, a citizen of the United States, residing at thicago, in the county of Cook and State of llllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Toys, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to toys and has for its primary object the provision of an 1mproved toy machine gun which shall have means for producing a rapid succession of explosive sounds simulating the rattle of a machine gun and which shall also have means for projecting in rapid succession from a gun barrel disks of paper or the like in the manner of bullets streaming from a machine gun. A further object is the provision of such a toy which shall be adapted to employ a strip of paper as the ammunition, to burst a series of holes in the strlp, thereby producing the machine gun rattle, and to project the disks of paper so burst from the strip to produce the effect of a stream of bullets.

A further object is to produce a construction embodying simplicity, efliciency, durability and cheapness of manufacture.

Other objects and advantages of the i11- vention will appear from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification and illustrate the pure ferred embodiment of the invention.

1n the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a right hand side elevation thereof.

Fig. 3 is a section taken approximately on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4. is a section taken approximately on line 1-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a partial section taken approximately on line 55 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary bottom plan view showing the paper feed wheels from below.

Reference numeral 10' designates a base board on which is secured a box-like metal frame comprising right and left hand side walls 11 and 1-2 and front and rear end walls 13 and l l. The upper extremities of the front and rear walls rise somewhat higher than the upper edges of the side walls, and a cover 15 is snapped over the upper extremities of the front and rear walls to inclose the working parts that are positioned within the four walls.

A cylinder 16 is supported by the frame and projects horizontally forward thereof in substantial alinement with the semi-cylindrical cover 15. This cylinder has a forward end aperture 17 across which a web of paper is held by apparatus to be described. An air compressing piston 18 is reciproeably mounted in the cylinder and carries a rearwardly extending piston rod 19, this rod being slidably pivoted as at 20 to the upper end of an upstanding lever 21 the lower end of which is mounted for oscillation in a vertical plane about a pivot bar 22 fixed in the frame. In any suitable manner, as b the short sleeves 23 and 24:. the lever 21 is held in position centrally of the side walls 11 and 12. A crank shaft 25, hearing in the side walls, carries a crank 26 paralleling pivot bar 22 and disposed in a longitudinal slot 27 formed in lever 21 intermediate its ends. This crank shaft is operated in any convenient manner, as, for example, by the hand-crank 23. A fly-wheel 29 is keyed upon a fly-wheel shaft 31 journaled in the side walls, a pinion 32 on the fly-wheel shaft meshing with a gear 33 on the crank shaft. The crank shaft turns in the direction indicated by arrow 3 1 in Fig. 1.

filidably mounted for reciprocation in the frame are a pair of spaced, horizontal, parallel guide rods 35 and 36. The right and left hand ends of pivot 20 are extended to form eyes 37 and 33 which embrace and are guided by rods 35 and 36, these eyes sliding upon the rods, and the rods themselves having also a horizontal reciprooatory motion within the eyes. Pivot 20 and its eyes 37 and 38 are driven forwardly and backwardly by the bifurcated upper end of lever 21 through which the pivot passes. The action of eye 37 in driving the paper feeding apparatus will be later described.

A flat metal plate 39 is brazed to the forward end of cylinder 16 and has a central aperture greater in diameter than and registering with the front end aperture 17 of the cylinder. The forward portions of guide rods 35 and 36 are guided also in lugs 11 formed on plate 39. The forward extremitics of guide rods 35 and 36 project forwardly of lugs 41 and are brazed, riveted,

or in any other convenient manner fixedly being alined with cover 15 and cylinder. 16.

The uide rods 35 and 36 extend consider- 7 ably ack from the rear wall 14 and have their rear extremities threaded to receive nuts 44. Between nuts 44 and rear wall 14 each guide rod carries a sliding sleeve 45. A yoke 46 is fixed upon the rear ends of sleeves 45, and stiff coiled springs 47 are ositioned between yoke 46 and nuts 44. A lhg 48 projects forwardly from yoke 46 at its center, and a similar lug 49 projects backwardly from rear wall 14. Toggle arms 50 and 51 are respectively pivoted to la 48 and 49 and have then overlapped en s lying one on each side of a link 52, a single pivot pin 53 connecting the arms and link together. Pivot pin 53 traverses the upper end of link 52, and the lower end of the link is pivotally joined to the rear end of a slide bar 54 horizontally reciprocated in alined bearing apertures provided inthe front and rear walls 13 and 14. Spaced front and rear studs 55 and 56 fixed in slide bar 54 project therefrom into the path of movement of lever 21, the successive contact of the lever with the studs driving the slide bar forward and backward and alternately collapsing and straightening the toggle arms 50 and 51, as indlcated by dotted hnes in Fig. 4. This actuation of the toggle arms gives the gun barrel 43 a slight axial movement from and toward the cylinder 16 for I a purpose that will later appear. About the flange 59 the diameter of which is such that forward portion of each guide rod 35 and 36 is coiled a helical spring 57 which is tensed between In 41 and one of the lugs 42. Upon collapse 0 the toggle arms these sprin 57 move rods 35 and 36, gun barrel 43, yo e 46, sleeves 45 and springs 47 slightly forward with respect to cylinder 16, yoke 46 first sliding forward on the guide rods to the limit of expansion of springs 47 and the latter subsequently moving sli htly forward with guide rods 35 and 36. he succeeding straightening of toggle arms 50 and 51 compresses springs 47 till the expansive force of springs 57 is overcome, following which the guide rods 35 and 36 and the gun barrel 43 are forced backwardly pressing the I 11 barrel yieldingly but firmly against the orward end of cylinder 16.

A disk 58 of yielding material, as cork or rubber, is fixed within the aperture of plate 39 and is itself provided with a central aperture registering with the forward end aperture 17 of cylinder 16. The rear end of gun barrel 43 is also formed with an aperture in register with aperture 17 and the aperture of disk 58. About this gun barrel aperture the rear wall of the gun barrel isformed with a backwardly extending short it will be entirely contained within the area' defined by disk '58 and will ress only against that diskor against a web 0 pa r positioned between the flange and the isk, but still within the perimeter of the disk. A hinge bearing 61 is formed on the upper edge'of plate 39 and carries a bracket 62 upon which is rotatably mounted a roll 63 of paper, the free end 64 of which is fed between cylinder 16 and gun barrel 43 when these parts are separated by collapse of toggle arms 50 and 51. When the toggle arms are straightened the paper is tight y held between disk 58 and flange 59, the paper forming an imperforate web closing aperture 17, and the yielding character of the disk insuring an air-tight joint between it and the paper.

Side brackets 65 and 66 extend forwardly of the frame and in them are journaled a pair of spaced parallel wheel shafts 67 and 68. Just inside bracket 66 each wheel shaft is provided with a toothed paper feeding wheel 69, these wheels being opposed to each other so that the paper 64 is pinched between them near its edge and fed downwardly automatically between them when they are properly rotated. A similar pair of wheels 71 is provided on shafts 67 and 68 just inside the right hand bracket 65. Wheel shaft 68 projects to the right of bracket 65 and carries a ratchet wheel 72 held against retrograde movement by a dog 73 of sprin metal carried by bracket 65. Supported and guided in its forward and bac ward horizontal reciprocation by support from wall 11 and bracket 65 is a feeding arm 74. The forward end of this arm is provided with down-turned teeth 75 which ride over the teeth of ratchet wheel 72 on. the forward stroke of the feeding arm and, on the backward stroke, catch and rotate the ratchet wheel, the extreme forward tip of feeding arm 74 having a smooth lower edge that slides over the ratchet wheel teeth. The feeding arm is maintained a ainst the ratchet wheel by a flat spring 76 xed by its lower end to the feeding arm and having its upper end bearing against the lower surface of guide rod 35. The rotation of the ratchet wheel turns wheels 69 and 71 to feed the paper 64 downwardl between the cylinder and gun barrel. Miition is imparted to feeding arm 74 by eye 37 of pivot 20, this eye alternately en aging s aced forward and rear posts 77 M15 78 rigid y upstanding from the feeding arm in the path of movement of the eye and shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2.

In the operation of the invention power is applied to crank shaft 25 in the direction of air within cylinder 16, the compression 30 finally. becoming so'igreat as to burst from paper 64 a disk the contour of which is defined by the perimleter of the aperture formed in the rear end Wall of gun barrel 43. The sudden escape of the compressed air through the gun barrel shoots this paper disk violently forward, the gun barrel wall guiding the paper disk straight forward from the front end of the toy machine gun in the manner of a bullet. The compression of air for this purpose is the operation requiring most force in the use of this toy, and it is to be noted that the parts are so arranged that this action is accomplished during the travel of crank 26 through the upper part of its orbit where it is near the upper end of lever 21 and hence exerts the greatest leverage on piston rod 19. The forward throw of lever 21 is obviously a slower movement than its backward movement, as in the latter the crank 26 is much nearer the lower pivoted end of the lever than the upper end and thus travels through a shorter arc in returning the lever to the rear position shown in Fig. 4:.

The bursting of the paper Get is acco1npanied with a loud explosive sound: immediately after this explosion lever 21 strikes stud 55 moving slide bar 54.- forward and collapsing toggle arms 50 and 51, whereupon springs 57 thrust the gun barrel a short distance from the cylinder. The forward movement of lever 21 has also brought eye 37 against post 77 and has carried feed ing arm 74: forward till teeth 75 of that arm have ridden over the teeth of ratchet wheel 72.. The arrangement of parts is such that on the backward movement of lever 21 the eye 37 strikes post 78 and throws the feeding arm 74: backward before the lever itself strikes stud 56 to straighten the toggle arms and draw the gun barrel back against the cylinder. Thus the teeth 75 of the feeding arm catch and rotate the paper feeding wheels 69 and 71' while the flange 59 is separated from disk 58, jerking the strip of paper 64: downwardly to position an imperforate part of the paper over aperture 17. Following the feeding of the paper lever 21 moves stud 56 and the slidevbar 5t backward, straightening the toggle arms and sealing an imperforate portion of the paper between disk 58 and flange 59. The sprinqs47 are, of course, stronger than springs 5 so that flange 59 is pressed against disk 58 with that degree of force by which springs 4.7 exceed springs 57 in strength.

Insertion of a new roll of paper in the machine is facilitated by means of a stiff metal strut 7 9 pivoted by its lower end to the lower horizontal reach 81 of bracket 62 and notched at its upper end to receive the upper horizontal reach 82 of the paper holding bracket. The bracket 62 is preferably formed of spring wire and its reaches 81 and 82 exert pressure toward each other against the ends of strut 79 to hold the strut in place.

The inspirating, or backward stroke of the piston 18, together with the action of the paper feeding apparatus and the backward movement of sllde bar 54: in straightening the toggle arms do not, taken together, require more than a fraction of the power necessary to compress the air in cylinder 16 to the point of bursting the paper. The backward movements of the plston, the slide bar, and the feeding arm 74 are, therefore, all accomplished during the travel of crank 26 through the lower portion of its orbit. The backward movements of these parts is hence much more rapid than their forward movement. This compensation of the speed of the forward and backward movements enables the machine to be readily operated so that the explosions of the paper follow each other in very rapid succession, simulating the rattle of a machine gun; and the projection of the paper disks from the gun-barrel is, of course, synchronous with these explosions.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be obvious that one skilled in the art may make modifications thereof without departing from the spirit of the invention. '1 wish, therefore, not to be restricted to the precise embodiment shown, except in so far as the same is limited in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a toy, the combination with a suitable frame, of a cylinder fixedly mounted therein and defining a chamber for compressed air, a gun barrel movable from and against said cylinder and formed with an aperture in its breech alined with a vent provided for said cylinder, and means including positively driven toothed wheels for automatically feeding a paper web between the cylinder and barrel during their separation. I

2. The combination of a cylinder having an end vent, a member for binding a web across said vent, mechanism for moving said member from and against the cylinder, web feeding apparatus, an air compressing piston reciprocable in the cylinder, and an operating lever so connected and arranged as to oscillate in one direction to drive the piston on its compressing stroke, and to oscillate in the opposite direction to drive the piston on its inspirating stroke and actuate the member moving mechanism and the web feeding apparatus.

3. The combination with a cylinder having a forward end aperture, and means for positioning a web of paper across the aperture, of a piston reciprocable in said cylinder and ada ted to compress air therein to a degree su cient to burst said paper, and

means for actuating the piston, said means comprising a crank, and connections between the crank and piston whereby the pistonis driven slowly on its air compressing stroke and is reciprocated at a relatively rapid speed.

4. The combination with a cylinder havin a front end a rturc, of a 11 barrel almed with the cy inder and having a rear end aperture registering with said front end aperture, a, supporting frame in which the cylinder is carried, an oscillating lever pivoted in the frame, gun barrel supporting means slida-bly mounted in the frame, and gun barrel actuating mechanism operated by said lever whereby said barrel is alternately removed from and yieldingly held against the front end of the cylinder.

5. The combination with a cylinder, of a gun barrel axially alined therewith, said elements having registering apertures in their adjacent ends, mechanism whereby said gun barrel is alternately moved axially from and against the cylinder, apparatus for feeding a web between the cylinder and barrel during their separation, and means for perforating said web when the cylinder and barrel are juxtaposed.

6. The combination with a supporting frame, of a cylinder supported therein, a member movable from and against the vented end of said cylinder for binding a web across the cylinder vent, actuating mechanism for said member includin a slide bar, apparatusfor feeding a web between said cylinder and member during their separation including a feeding arm, a piston movable in the cylinder for compressing air therein, a piston rod for actuating the piston, and a single operating lever so connected and arranged as to drive said slide bar, feeding arm and piston rod.

7. The combination with a supporting frame, of a cylinder supported therein, a member movable from and against the vented end of said cylinder for binding a web across the cylinder vent, actuating mechanism for said member including a slide bar, apparatus for feeding a web between said cylinder and member during their separation including a feeding arm, a piston movable in the cylinder for compressing air therein, a piston rod for actuating the piston, and a single operating lever connected and arranged to drive said slide bar, feeding arm and piston rod, the three latter elements being reciprocable in constant parallelism.

8. The combination with a frame, of a container for compressed air mounted therein, said container having a vent aperture, a member for holding a web across said vent, and means for moving and supporting the member comprising guide rods slidablein the frame and carryin the member, a. yoke spanning the guide r s, toggle devices connecting the yoke and frame, and a slide rod movable in the frame and connected to the toggle devices to operate them.

'9. The combination with a frame, of a cylinder mounted therein, a piston movable forwardly in the cylinder to compress air therein and reciprocable to inspirate, a piston rod perpendicular to the piston, guide rods spaced from each other and paralleling the axis of the piston. a pivot pin traversing the iston rod and having end eyes each slida 1y embracing one of the guide rods, an operating lever for actuating the pivot pin, apparatus for feeding paper across a vent formed in the cylinder, said apparatus including a feeding arm reciprocable in the frame, and spaced posts projecting therefrom, one of the eyes lying between said posts, and the posts lying in the path of movement of that eye to receive motion therefrom.

10. The combination with a frame, of a vented compressed air chamber mounted therein, a breech apertured gun barrel movable from and against the chamber and having its aperture in register with the vent of the chamber, a pair of parallel guide rods slidably supported in the frame and carrying the gun barrel on their forward ends, springs compressed between the chamber and gun barrel for moving the barrel from the chamber, a yoke embracing the rear ends of the guide rods, nuts threaded one on each rear end of a guide rod back of said yoke, yoke springs stronger than said first named springs compressed between the yoke and nuts, and toggle devices interposed between the yoke and frame, said devices being collapsible to permit the first named springs to move the gun barrel from the chamber and capable of being straightened to force said yo e against the second named springs to draw the gun barrel against the chamber.

11. The combination with a frame, of a pair of parallel spaced guide rods mounted therein for reciprocable movement longitudinally, a gun barrel rigidly carried by said guide rods, means for compressing air to be discharged through the gun barrel including a cylinder and a piston rod guided by connections with the guide rods, rolls for feeding paper between the gun barrel and cylinder, and a paper feeding arm guided by connection with the guide rods to actuate said rolls.

12. The combination with a stationary frame, of a cylinder projecting horizontally forward therefrom, a gun barrel alined with the cylinder forwardly thereof, rolls for feeding paper between the cylinder and gun barrel, an oscillating lever mounted in the frame, and means actuated by said lever for moving the gun barrel from and toward the cylinder, for feeding paper between the cylinder and gun barrel, and for compressing air within the cylinder, there being reg istering apertures in adjacent Walls of said cylinder and gun barrel.

13. In a toy, the combination with a supporting frame, of a fixed member having an air port, and means for supplying comin pressed air to one side of said port at spaced rotatable crank connected to said means and 15 mechanism to actuate them.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature.

OTTO A. LANGOS, 

